By 1978, Evangelist/Historian and founder of Mantle Ministries, Richard "Little Bear" Wheeler, recognized the Lord Jesus Christ's mighty hand in guiding his life for the purpose of leading his family into full-time ministry. Under the Lord's inspiration, Richard Wheeler began to integrate his biblical seminary studies, Christian conviction, and theatrical training to reach our nation with a riveting message to alert, equip, and commission the saints in their God-ordained responsibilities as believers. As the mantle of ministry was passed from Elijah to Elisha, the purpose of Mantle Ministries is that of passing a mantle of America's Christian heritage from one generation to another, thereby preserving a Godly legacy and Christ-honoring standard given to us by our Founding Fathers.
His accurate, engrossing, and unforgettable dramatized messages, along with character-building portrayals of historical role models, provide inspiration to audiences of all ages. Using authentic costumes and props, "Little Bear"—his frontier name given to him through the Royal Rangers, a boy's Christian camping ministry—presents enthralling portrayals of historical events and true stories not found in public instruction nor in books published during the last 100 years. "Little Bear's" unique and challenging presentations come highly recommended by church and home school conference leaders and school administrators across the country.
Evangelist Wheeler's commitment to a public ministry encompasses more than dramatic portrayals, motivational workshops, and keynote speaking engagements. He has founded a publishing company within Mantle Ministries for the purpose of reprinting rare books from the 18th and 19th centuries that focus on our Christian heritage and biblical values. He has authored God's Mighty Hand: Providential Occurrences in World History, an anthology of the accounts God's miraculous intervention throughout history. His first booklet, Warning Public Schools Aren't for Christians, is a challenging analysis of God's mandate of parental responsibility in educating the next generation for Christ. His publishing company has expanded to provide a variety of resource materials including "HIS-STORY" videos, CDs, and historical accessories, alongside the Christ-honoring books which have been recommended for Christian school, church, and family heritage libraries, as well as Christian home education curricula.
Richard "Little Bear" Wheeler and wife, Marilyn, have been married for 34 years, and have had the unique privilege of having home educated their three children, Noelle, Aimee, and Joshua, in the "mobile classroom" of our forty-eight United States, as well as overseas, via the national and international evangelistic ministry of Mantle Ministries. They are now experiencing the joy of John 15:16—"the fruit that remains," in the mantle of grand-parenthood as their married daughter, Noelle, and her husband, Joshua Goforth, have become parents of their young three sons, William, Richard, and Myles.